It's weekly quiz night at the Golden Lion pub in Ashton Hayes and the compere is on the 'carbon neutral' round. What's more environmentally friendly: a plastic bottle of mineral water or a polystyrene cup of tea, he calls out.

It is not your usual pub fare, but Ashton Hayes is no ordinary place: the 1,000 residents have set themselves on a mission to become Britain's first carbon neutral community.

The Cheshire village is not alone. Across Britain a whole series of communities, from individual streets to parts of cities, are attempting to reduce through local projects the carbon emissions blamed for global warming and climate change.

While politicians dither over low-energy light bulbs, car emission standards and planning permission for renewable energy, grassroots movements are installing solar and wind power, sharing cars, turning off radiators and espresso machines and even organising their own carbon trading.

'Everybody's talking; for God's sake, we have to do something about it,' said Garry Charnock, the founder and driving force behind Ashton Hayes's efforts. 'We're no experts in all this, we're just giving it a go and seeing where it leads.'

Enthusiastic, curious or lured by the promise of free sparkling wine, 400 people arrived for the launch. The plan was to reduce carbon emissions by doing less or using more efficient means, switch to renewable energy - at home or in vehicles - and offset remaining emissions, hopefully by planting a carbon sink of trees within the parish.

In the year since the launch, residents have fitted low-energy light bulbs, switched off appliances and turned down the heating. Neighbours share lifts to the theatre and swap energy-saving tips over coffee or beers. Six homes have fitted solar panels, as has the school, which also has a small wind turbine, cooks meals on site, and is considering appointing classroom monitors to make sure lights and computers are turned off. The Golden Lion has saved £200 a month by hanging laundry outside, switching off the cigarette machine at closing time and turning down the thermostat.

'I have done the things we have all done,' says Alison Ambrose, a midwife with three sons. 'I have switched to a power supplier that takes some from green renewables, got myself a compost bin, stopped using the tumble drier and scream at the children to turn the lights off, turn off the things like the chargers and pilot lights. I'm not an angel about it, I do it when I remember.'

In a few weeks, students from University College Chester will be collecting information to see how much progress the village has made. Dr Roy Alexander, a college tutor and another resident and organiser, says it's too soon to say whether the carbon savings will be 2 per cent or 20 per cent. But some of the most ambitious plans are still to come, including a microgrid to transmit renewable energy to buildings on the north side of the village from local renewable sources: a wood burner at the school, wind turbines or solar panels on the church. Organisers have also started 'carbon clinics' to give advice. To encourage people outside the parish, the village will next month host a conference for 150 people. It is already oversubscribed.

Elsewhere, other networks are springing up. Thirteen 'Transition Towns', mostly in the West Country, have been proclaimed by people worried about climate change and oil running out. The Crags network of Carbon Rationing Action Groups has at least 20 members, from Chiswick in west London to York, Leeds and Glasgow. Each agrees to cap carbon use and pay for excess emissions into a fund for energy-saving causes. Another initiative is CRed, the Community Carbon Reduction Project set up by the University of East Anglia to advise groups how to cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2025.

Even if the dedicated few do dramatically cut emissions, however, there is the question of how much good they will do. One village of a 1,000 people, even a few towns, represents a tiny proportion of UK emissions, let alone the global problem. The remaining hope is that people power will encourage ministers to take politically bold decisions - whether that's banning high energy light bulbs, taxing gas-guzzling cars more steeply or building a new electricity grid.

Charnock admits there is a long way to go but, after some initial doubts, he believes others can do what Ashton Hayes is doing. 'I thought Ashton Hayes was probably special, but other communities seem equally special.'

And the answer to the pub quiz question? A polystyrene cup of tea creates fewer emissions than a plastic bottle of water.

How to go neutral

Reduce: by doing fewer things that use up the energy supplies (for example, ditch that electric cocktail shaker and share cars), and using more efficient appliances and vehicles.

Renew: by getting the electricity that you still need, either by generating it yourself by using low-carbon sources or purchasing it from renewable suppliers. And you should switch to using alternative-fuel cars if at all possible.

Replace: by offsetting the remaining carbon emissions, investing in tree planting or other projects that can reduce CO2.